A new Epichloë species with interspecific hybrid origins from Poa pratensis ssp. pratensis in Liyang, China

Abstract

We describe a new Epichloë species found in symbiosis with Poa pratensis ssp. pratensis in Liyang, China. Stromata characteristic of Epichloë spp. were present on some of the reproductive tillers of individual host grasses. Only three of the 98 stromata observed on field plants became orange and produced perithecia. Phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of tubB and tefA indicated that this Epichloë sp. was an interspecific hybrid related to both E. yangzii and members in the E. typhina complex clade (ETC). Allele-1 of tefA and tubB grouped in the E. bromicola/E. yangzii clade; allele-2 of these two genes clustered in a distinct subclade in the ETC. This is the first report of an Epichloë species that has interspecific hybrid origins. We propose the name Epichloë liyangensis Z. Wang, Y. Kang et H. Miao, sp. nov. for this species.

• double alleles of tefA and tubB
• endophyte
• morphological characteristics
• phylogenetic analysis

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We acknowledge M.J. Christensen in New Zealand for critical reviewing of the manuscript and valuable advice on experiments, Mr J.W. Huang in Liyang for his help in sample collection, Dr W.L. Chen at the Chinese Academy of Sciences for her advice on species determination of host plants.

This research was fully supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 30970081, 30800156, 30670008).